2024: Our Year in Review

We’re wrapping up 2024 having helped 64 researchers, breaking our record for the third year in a row. This increase was partly driven by the re-election of a virulently anti-science administration and the uncertainty ahead. In recent weeks, new clients have come to us seeking help understanding how another Trump administration will impact scientific endeavor, and what scientists can do to protect themselves and their research.

This year, we represented Dr. Virginia Burkett, a federal climate scientist who was retaliated against for speaking out about anti-science actions by political appointees during the first Trump administration. With our support, Dr. Burkett filed a whistleblower complaint urging an investigation into what happened and seeking better protections for federal scientists.

We also provided free legal assistance to a public university professor facing retaliation and harassment for his climate activism in a red state, a scientist preparing to testify before Congress about climate change, and academics concerned about potential legal threats from groundbreaking research into climate misinformation.

Scientists also came to us for help with:

• preparing for the return of Schedule F and the threat to federal scientists
• becoming involved in climate litigation and the judicial process, especially in light of recent Supreme Court decisions undermining scientific expertise
• defending against baseless defamation threats by fossil fuel-funded actors
• fighting back against research censorship
• predatory open records demands

This year, we also educated hundreds of scientists about how to protect and defend science. We presented webinars for scientists wishing to safely and effectively participate in scientific activism and advocacy ahead of the 2024 election. We also participated in the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Science Hub Webinar Series, where we discussed scientists’ rights and how they can fight back against intimidation by fossil fuel corporations. CSLDF attorneys gave presentations at the annual meetings of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the Ecological Society of America (ESA), and the Geological Society of America (GSA). We also offered free and confidential legal clinics at these conferences.

We added new resources to our ever-expanding library of free guides and toolkits for scientists. Our new Activism and Advocacy Toolkit includes information on engaging with legislators, a guide to the First Amendment, and other resources to help scientists mitigate the potential risks associated with advocating for science and pro-science candidates. We also updated our guides for NASA, NOAA, and the USDA in our library of Guides to Scientific Integrity at Federal Agencies.

As part of our educational efforts, we added dozens of entries to the Silencing Science Tracker, a database of anti-science actions that we maintain with the Sabin Center at Columbia Law School. Some of the new entries included JD Vance referring to climate change as “weird science” during the 2024 Vice Presidential debate, a request for the publisher to remove mentions of “climate change” from high school biology textbooks in Florida, Governor DeSantis signing a bill that removed mentions of “climate change” from existing Florida laws, and budget cuts to several science-focused federal agencies.

We spoke to the press, providing quotes and context on topics including climate scientist Michael Mann’s courtroom win, the damage the previous Trump administration caused to federal science, and what his return might mean for science and scientists. We also published a piece in the Index on Censorship magazine analyzing the many attacks on climate and other sciences, as documented in the Silencing Science Tracker.

Following the alarming outcome of the 2024 presidential election, we immediately put out a call to action and set to work preparing for the incoming administration. Through Project 2025 and Trump’s Cabinet nominations, the incoming administration has signaled that science will be removed from federal policymaking. Current cabinet nominees include an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist to run Health and Human Services, a fossil fuel cheerleader for Interior Secretary, and a hydrofracking CEO for Energy Secretary, guaranteeing a rough road ahead for scientists and the rest of us.

Thanks to the outpouring of generous support in the wake of the election, we’ve begun the process of hiring another attorney to handle the anticipated increase in workload. Under the previous Trump administration, federal researchers faced termination and demotion, censorship, and misrepresentation of their scientific findings to support a political narrative. We expect more of the same, and we’re ready for the fight.

While 2025 will be challenging, we are not backing down. We were able to accomplish so much in 2024 because of the support of people like you who stand with us and with scientists against the onslaught of anti-science, anti-truth intimidation campaigns. If we are to meet the virulently anti-science administration head-on, we will need your support. If you can, please donate today and join us in the fight for truth.